A market research questionnaire is a list of questions presented orally or in writing. Generally, questionnaires contain closed-ended and open-ended questions addressed to members of the target population.
Businesses use questionnaires to make well-informed decisions. For example, a business questionnaire may be used to survey existing or prospective customers and employees for gaining key insights into customer needs and preferences.
Keep reading for an in-depth analysis of a market research questionnaire.
A Market Research Questionnaire Explained
A market research questionnaire is a market research technique that aims to gain a quantitative assessment to complement the qualitative view offered by other techniques, such as focus groups or individual interviews.
Also known as “structured questions,” closed-ended questions in a questionnaire are simple and require only a short phrase or word as an answer without elaboration. On the other hand, open-ended questions (also known as “unstructured questions”) need in-depth answers and allow participants to answer in their own words and provide personal opinions.
An example of a closed-ended question:
“What is your age?” (Needs a word as an answer)
An example of an open-ended question:
“Why did you choose to live in this city?” (Needs specific details to answer the question)
How to Design a Market Research Questionnaire
Here are some of the best practices for designing market research questionnaires:
- Select the interview method
- Determine question composition
- Determine individual question content
- Develop question order, form, and layout
- Pilot test the questionnaire
Why Do You Need a Market Research Questionnaire?
A questionnaire helps in gathering large amounts of information (primary data) from sizeable sample volumes. As a popular research method, it is especially effective for measuring a research participant’s attitude, behavior, intentions, preferences, and opinions.
Here are major benefits of using a market research questionnaire (listed alphabetically):
- Check your position against your competitors
- Create authentic and fresh content
- Gain insights into an existing or a future product
- Identify customer demographics
- Measure brand awareness
- Prioritize ad spend and resources
- Reach a specific audience
- Segment, research, and analyze your target market
- Test branding, naming, and positioning
- Understand consumer sentiment
Types of Market Research Questions
Examples of common market research questions (listed alphabetically)
- How likely are you to recommend us to your family and friends?
- How old are you?
- How would you rate your experience with us?
- What is the maximum you would pay for ‘X’ product?
- Where do you live?
Examples of new product survey questions (listed alphabetically)
- How can we improve the product?
- How frequently do you use the product?
- Is the product simple to use?
- Please rank the product features from the most to least important.
- What do you like the most about the product?
Wrapping Up
A market research questionnaire helps businesses reach people quickly for gaining meaningful insights and making well-informed decisions.
Without using a questionnaire, it would be difficult to identify potential threats and opportunities and learn more about the target audience.
A market research questionnaire is a powerful research tool to gain customer insights and improve customer experience.
